


Between the Lines

by After_the_Lights



Series: An Unbreakable Connection - Terraqua Week [1]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Denial of Feelings, Exasperated Axel, F/M, Male Friendship, Movie Night, Mutual Pining, Post-Canon, Social Media, Terraqua Week (Kingdom Hearts), Texting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-15
Updated: 2019-09-15
Packaged: 2020-10-19 11:17:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,951
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20656358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/After_the_Lights/pseuds/After_the_Lights
Summary: '“That doesn’t mean anything,” says Terra, snatching his phone back. “Liking someone’s Kingstagram posts is not an indication of romantic interest.“Oh, my young, naïve friend. Yes, it is.”“I’m older than you!”“I guess…if you want to get technical.”'Or the one where Axel teaches Terra that sometimes, there’s more to a like than meets the eye.





	Between the Lines

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Terraqua Week 2019 - Day One - Prompt: # gummiphone
> 
> I'm challenging myself to write and publish each piece for Terraqua Week on the same day, so apologies for any typos I may have missed.

_“Someone’s got a crush!”_

There’s a song in Axel’s voice, as loud and colourful as his mane of hair, and Terra throws a desperate glance across the make-shift cinema to make sure it hasn’t reached Aqua’s ears. She’s standing next to Ventus and Kairi, watching with a cautious eye as they attempt to use a bizarre contraption Scrooge McDuck claims is a popcorn machine, which has thankfully claimed most of her attention. She doesn’t look up but he’s almost certain he spots the beginnings of a smile unfurl from the corner of her mouth, and Axel sits down next to Terra with a drink in hand and a gloriously smug grin upon his face.

“Tell everyone, why don’t you.”

“Don’t mind if I do,” Axel replies. He takes a great big gulping breath and rises to his feet as though he’s about to deliver a truly epic speech, the likes of which Twilight Town has never seen before.

“I didn’t mean _literally_,” Terra hisses and grabs the back of the redhead’s jacket, yanking him back down onto the bench next to him with more force than is probably necessary.

“Personally, I think it’s really sweet,” says Axel, his voice low as he rubs one hand across his back with a faint grimace. “The whole falling-for-your-best-friend thing. But you have _got_ to stop looking at her constantly every time you’re out in public. I know that chronologically speaking you’re a little messed up but you’re still a grown man and honestly, it’s getting kind of pathetic.”

“I do not always look at her.”

“Um yes, yes you do.” Axel pauses to take a swig of his drink, side-eyeing Terra with the strangest of expressions, mischievous yet empathetic. “Look, I get it, okay. Sometimes I worry that if I don’t have Roxas within my line of sight, he’ll end up disappearing again. But there’s only so long you can stare at someone before it becomes disturbing. The line between looking like a love-sick admirer or a creepy stalker is very thin and you are dangerously close to crossing over to the wrong side.”

Terra sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Thank you, Axel, for the completely unwanted romantic advice.”

“You’re very welcome,” he grins and casually throws his arm around Terra’s neck so he can pat him on the shoulder. “Got to say though, you sure picked one heck of a woman to fall for. I don’t even bend that way most of the time, but if she came onto me? Man, I don’t think I could turn her down. I’d be torn between asking her to step on me and seeing if she could snap my neck with her thighs.”

“By the light, Axel! Can we not?”

Axel’s grin grows even wider. “Oh, come on. Like you haven’t ever thought about it.”

He has, usually in the dead of night when he can’t sleep and there’s nothing but the darkness and his hands for company.

Terra takes down a mental note - Axel used to be the Organisation’s hitman. He is dangerously observant and far more perceptive than people expect him to be.

Or maybe he’s just painfully obvious.

“So… what’s the plan?” Axel asks.

“Plan?” Terra repeats, furrowing his brow.

“Not just any plan. _The_ plan.” Axel takes another long sip of his drink, smirking around the can. “You’re going to woo her, right? Sweep her off her feet like she deserves? You didn’t deny having a crush so I’m invested now and the way I see it, this can only end in one of three ways: triumph, disaster, or hilarity. And I’d be happy watching any of them.”

“Okay, fine! Yes, I have feelings for Aqua. Happy?

_“Very.”_

“But even if she did, for some strange reason, share those feelings, now’s not the right time to act on them. We’ve only just managed to get our sleep schedule back on track and we’re trying to re-establish the Land of Departure as an academy and I just don’t think we’d be-”

“Oh, no, no, no, no, no,” Axel starts, jabbing a long and pale finger into Terra’s chest. “You are _not _using those as an excuse to deny yourself a chance at happiness. I’m not suggesting you confess to her and then immediately start getting down and dirty-”

“We are not having this conversation.”

“-but you need to at least tell her _something_. I don’t know if you’ve forgotten but I do have rather a lot of experience when it comes to pining after your blue-haired best friend and trust me, keeping all your feelings locked up inside like this is a bad idea. The longer you do it, the more hurts.”

“Really?”

“Yup,” he nods, pronouncing the p with a hard pop. “Anyway, there’s no real need for you to worry. She likes you.”

Terra’s stomach flips, all of Axel’s teasing words forgotten as he replays that last sentence over and over in his mind. She likes him. She likes him. She likes him. His heart is pounding, beating unnervingly fast and he wonders if this is what you’re supposed to feel like when you’re young and in love.

He clears his throat. “Did she um… did she say something?” he asks, trying desperately hard to keep his voice calm and level.

Axel looks at him with something that borders awfully close to pity. “Light have mercy, you really _are _that dense, aren’t you,” he says, rolling his eyes. He turns his head, focusing his gaze on the front of the cinema where several people are trying, with some difficulty, to set up the projector. He watches them closely with a hard stare but his eyes are hazy, looking but not really seeing, almost like he’s overthinking something.

Terra welcomes the respite and throws a brief glance towards Aqua, biting his lip. They’ve got the popcorn machine working now and she’s helping to pour the kernels into the machine, laughing brightly as Ven encourages her to add more and more.

When Axel finally speaks up his voice is low and measured but there’s still a hint of amusement trimming the edges of his words.

“Do me a favour, Terra. Get out your gummiphone.”

Terra complies, fishing the device out from the depth of his pockets and tries to hide the screen from Axel’s prying eyes. He fails and his lock-screen, a picture of Aqua and Ventus beaming with smiles large enough they almost touch their eyes, is displayed in all its glory.

“I’d love to tease you,” Axel admits. “Really, I would. But my own screensaver is pretty much the exact same picture with Roxas and Xion, so I’m hardly one to talk. Anyway, go to your Kingstagram account and tell me if you spot anything unusual.”

“Unusual? Like what?”

“Just humour me, will you, and take a look.”

Compared to some of their friends, Terra’s account is remarkably sparse. Aqua is a regular poster, uploading photographs of her bakes and glasswork along with beautiful captured sunsets and the occasional picture of the three of them doing something silly. Ven seems to think of it like a diary, uploading photo after photo of every place he visits and every single person he meets, countless selfies, and pictures of Chirithy in increasingly cute poses and costumes.

Terra, however, only likes to post important things, memories he doesn’t ever want to forget. The very first sunrise they saw together back at the Land of Departure. Aqua’s reunion with Stormfall after twelve long, hard years. The three of them grinning when they realised their passes to Disney Town really were lifetime passes and that Scrooge McDuck is capable of telling the truth. Sometimes.

There is one more unusual picture, one Aqua coaxed him into posting. He’s in the forecourt back home, shirtless, performing a vertical push-up and for some reason, this one photograph has almost the same number of likes as all of his other posts put together.

He scrolls through them all, frowning. What in the worlds is Axel expecting him to see?

“I’m not sure what I’m supposed to be seeing here,” he says after several minutes of unproductive scrolling.

Axel sighs, heavy and loud, and plucks the phone from Terra’s hand with surprising alacrity. He thumbs through the posts until he lands on the very first, a picture of their Wayfinders glinting in sun.

“Look here. This is your very first post and who is the first person to not only like it but comment on it as well?”

“Aqua?”

“Correct! Now, onto the next one. Same question. The first person to like it and comment on it is…”

“Aqua.”

“Yup. And look, here she is again,” Axel says, scrolling forwards. The corners of his mouth are creeping upwards with every new picture and every confirmation that Aqua is the very first commenter and always the first to leave a like. “And again, and again, and again.”

“That doesn’t mean anything,” says Terra, snatching his phone back. “Liking someone’s Kingstagram posts is not an indication of romantic interest.

“Oh, my young, naïve friend. Yes, it is.”

_“I’m older than you!”_

“I guess…if you want to get technical.”

“And anyway, Aqua’s my friend, my oldest friend. She’s probably only doing it to be polite.”

“If that’s the case then why hasn’t she done the same on Ven’s posts? Or anyone else’s for that matter?”

“I don’t know.”

“I think you do,_”_ Axel says, nudging him in the side with a bony elbow. “But I guess it’s always a good idea to get a second opinion.” His eyes rove around the courtyard, searching for someone with a purpose Terra is unsure of, before widening when they find his target. “Oi, Hayner!” he bellows and gestures for the boy to join them.

Hayner, who is setting up the movie screen with Riku, does not look happy to be interrupted and wanders over to them with the deliberately slow pace of the mildly annoyed.

“Something I can help you guys with?” he asks, eyes narrow and expression hovering between suspicion and confusion.

“Yes, actually,” says Axel, his smile horribly exaggerated. “We were just wondering if someone likes all of your posts on Kingstagram, and comments on most of them as well, that means they like you, right? Like, romantically?”

“Uh…probably,” Hayner says with a wavering nod, before adding, “That or they just really want to bang you.”

Axel thanks him with a laugh and shoos him away. Terra, meanwhile, tries not to choke on his tongue.

“That still doesn’t prove anything,” he splutters.

Axel sighs and almost seems to deflate as he slumps backwards to lean on the wall behind their bench. “You really are stubborn, you know that. I thought Roxas was bad but you really take it to a whole new level. It’s like you don’t even want to be happy.”

“I do. It’s just…”

“You’re scared. You don’t want to ruin your friendship. You think you don’t deserve her.”

“Yeah. That.”

Axel throws back his head with a groan and looks up to the sky. A frown twists his lips, shockingly different from his usual grin and Terra’s about to ask if he’s alright, words on the tip of his tongue, when Axel quickly rights himself and turns to face him, digging out his phone.

“I told her I wouldn’t do this,” he says, thumb dancing across the screen, “but you’ve kind of left me with no other choice.” When he’s found what he’s looking for, he offers the phone to Terra with a strange kind of reverence, as though he is giving him his heart. “Whatever you decide to do about all this, do _not_ tell Aqua I showed this to you, okay. If you do, she’ll probably murder me and we both know she is more than capable of doing so. So say nothing.”

Terra nods and remains silent as he takes the phone. Up on screen are a string of text messages dated from three days ago. He glances curiously at Axel, who smiles and nods, and begins reading.

**—Aqua 8.32pm**

Do you ever regret it?

**—8.35pm**

you’re gonna have to be more specific

i’ve done a lot of dumb shit in my time so there’s a lot to regret

**—Aqua 8.36pm**

Your relationship with Isa.

Do you ever have moments where you regret confessing your true feelings and just wish you could go back to being best friends?

**—8.39pm**

honestly…

no

i mean, sure there’s been times when we’re arguing and he’s driving me insane and I think getting together was the worst idea I’ve ever had™

but i think it’s pretty normal to have occasional doubts

relationships aren’t meant to always be easy. they’re a constant work in progress.

and just because we’re a couple now doesn’t mean Isa’s no longer my best friend. he still is, but now i get to kiss him whenever i want

and sometimes more ;P

**—Aqua 8.40pm**

I see.

So you’re happy you decided to be honest with him and your feelings?

**—8.40pm**

very

what’s brought all this up anyway?

has something happened?

**—Aqua 8.41pm**

No. Nothing really.

I’ve just been doing some thinking.

**—8.42pm**

about terra?

**—Aqua 8.45pm**

Yes

**—8.45pm**

you wanna talk about it?

**—Aqua 8.48pm**

No

**—Aqua 8.49pm**

Yes?

**—Aqua 8.49pm**

I don’t know.

**—8.50pm**

well if you do decide you need someone to lend you an ear, you know where to find me

**—Aqua 8.53pm**

Thanks, Axel.

You know, for a former assassin you’re surprisingly sweet.

**—8.54pm**

it’s a secret i only reveal to those i truly like

tell anyone and i’ll kill you

**—Aqua 8.54pm**

Noted.

The same applies to you if you tell anyone about this conversation.

**—8.55pm**

even terra?

**—Aqua 8.55pm**

Especially Terra.

**—8.56pm**

understood, master

my lips are sealed

The silence lasts for a minute, then another, then another as he re-reads the messages and tries to calm his stuttering heartbeat. Axel leans towards him, peering at his face as though he’ll be able to read the mess of Terra’s thoughts from his expression alone.

“Interesting reading, right?” he prompts but Terra’s not sure he’ll be able to put together a coherent sentence. He simply nods and re-reads the texts for the nth time.

All his fears about their friendship and the possibilities of something more, the thoughts that wrack his brain day and night, she has them too and he doesn’t know whether to find it relieving or worrying. He hands the phone back to Axel and rakes his hand through his hair.

“Thanks, Axel,” he says, with a long and shaky exhale. “And don’t worry. I won’t tell her.”

“Good to hear. I do rather enjoy being alive after all.” He places his phone back in his pocket, adjusting his jacket as he does so. “And I meant what I said to Aqua. Isa might be my partner now, but he’s still my best friend. You shouldn’t think about this as losing a friendship because you’re not, not really. You’re just gaining an extra level of intimacy to your existing relationship, that’s all.”

“I know. It’s just…hard to take the first step. To accept that something I’ve held onto for so long might change.”

“Well, you never know. It might just change for the better. In fact, I’m pretty sure it will. But you’ll never find out unless you try. “

Terra snorts, a short sharp puff of air. “You know, you’re starting to sound an awful lot like King Mickey.”

“I am not!” Axel replies, seemingly horrified at the thought but there’s a spark of amusement hidden between the slightly upturned corners of his mouth. “But does this mean you’re finally going to tell her?”

“Finally tell who what?” asks Aqua, suddenly appearing before them with two small buckets of popcorn in her hands.

Terra tries his hardest to hide his shock and nerves, shifting his expression from surprise to suspicion, and eyes up the popcorn warily.

Aqua follows his stare and quickly reassures him. “Don’t worry. I had Ven make up at least one batch of salty popcorn along with all the sweet stuff, just for you.”

“Thanks,” he says. She offers him one of the buckets and he takes it with a grateful but trembling smile.

Axel catches his gaze, both his lips and brows curved in delight, and shuffles along the bench to make room for her. She sits down between them and he leans over to grab a handful of popcorn from Terra’s bucket and then throws the kernels into the air, catching them all with impressive ease. He chews them thoughtfully for a few seconds before placing a hand on Aqua’s shoulder.

“As much as I enjoy the company of my two favourite Keyblade Masters,” he begins and Aqua playfully shrugs off his hand, earning her a laugh, “I think I’m going to go sit over with Roxas and Xion if that’s alright with you.”

“Of course it is,” replies Aqua, and Terra watches closely as Axels stands up, raising his hands to the sky and stretching dramatically.

“Besides,” he says, his lips quivering with the faintest of chuckles, “you know what they say about the back row of cinemas.”

Aqua blinks, her expression quizzical. “No, I don’t think we do.”

Axel’s grin is positively manic.

“It’s where all the couples sit when they don’t want to be disturbed,” he all but cackles and quickly strolls over to his friends, leaving Terra and Aqua open-mouthed and cheek-flushed in his colourful wake.

Terra takes down another mental note; never,_ ever_ mess with Axel.

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Terraqua Week!
> 
> Axel is 100% that friend who will happily help you get want you want but will make sure to do it in the most excruciating or convoluted way possible. 
> 
> I wrote this all in one go this evening so apologies for any typos and the messiness in general. I had planned for it to be less than 1000 words but then Axel and Terra's friendship just seemed to take off and I ended up with nearly 3000 words instead. I just have way too much fun imagining these three being friends.
> 
> And yes, that is indeed a pun in the summary and yes, I am proud of it.


End file.
